Padanelle

I bought this before my surgery. I was so worried about suggestions on what I would be able to eat. I like to cook, and now that I am 2 months post op, I realize I probably can just wing it, adapting my regular recipes. There are some really interesting recipes, and the advice at the beginning is very helpful. Also, each recipe gives the nutritional breakdown, plus tips on how to adapt it for different WLS, and different post-op stages.

I had my second fill last week, and if I don't conswciously think about it, I still gulp most of my liquids, specially water. I know I'm going to regret it one of these days.

Restless is correct. Drinking water won't east the burning of spicy food. Rice is a good solution, although bandsters have to be careful with rice. When you think about it, no wonder rice is often served with Mexican and Asian food.

My surgeon gave me a choice between LB or Realize, and I left the decision to him. I have the LB AP Standard 10 cc.

I take paxil, which has a tendency to cause some people to gain weight. However, when I have tried to diet in the past, I don't believe it affected my weight loss. I agree with willowcat, that id the meds ghelp your frame of mind, you will be more likely to have success with your weight loss.

I had my first fill exactly one month after surgery, with absolutely no problems. I barely felt the fill (4 cc) & was glad to be on liquids for 2 days afterwards, as I really didn't feel like eating much. Like Cathy, I had to drink water before leaving the dr's office. I had my 2nd fill (1 cc) last Thurs, and agin, was not really hungry afterwards, and happy to just have liquid protein for a few days.

I've had 2 fills, and after each of them for the first day or 2. I was not at all hungry. Fortunately, since my doctor wants me to be on liquids for 2 day, I can still get my Protein in. I usually have the Isopure Zero Carb Protein drinks. One 20oz bottle has 40g protein. I read that our body tends to average out out protein intake, so it sounds like having low amounts of protein for a day or so, shouldn't hurt, as long as you normally consume proper amounts. If you aren't eating for more than 2 days, definately call your doctor. Good luck.

Everyone is different on how they heal. I was lucky that I didn't suffer much from the gas from the co2. Maybe it had to do with my surgeon only making one incision. I'm 2 months post op, and I'm still taking gas-x. There's no pain - just the frequent urge to fart. Sigh! I keep a food journal, and if anything notable happens, I also enter it, like whenever I exercise - still a rarity at this point, any discomfort I may experience (it took a week before I could get in/out of bed with our major pain), when I noticed the swelling start to go down (10 days), my fills and reactions to them, how I handle certain foods, etc. The food journal helps keep me on track. Any discomforts experienced along the journey so far are just a distant memory - although I did have my first sliming experience yesterday - and the excitement of seeing the scale go down keeps me going, even though at times it not moving as fast as I would like. Each day is a new experience.

My surgeon advises to put the fork down after every bite, chew thoroughly, and wait 1 minute afterwards. I'm still having problems with waiting more than about 15 seconds. Hopefully that will improve.

I also thought that I would continue to need Isopure when I went to solids, but I was surprised how much protien i can get from fish. meat, some cereals and other choices. I do add protein powders to pudding, and on days when I'm not hungry or too busy, I have half bottle of Isopure. I never noticed the smell, but then I don't have a great sense of smell. I always keep a few bottles of my favorite flavors of Isopure zero carb in the fridge.

I met with my nutritionist last week and she recommended that Kashi Go Lean. She did say to be careful not to eat more than a portion of it at a time.

There are 2 types of gas pain. One is a result of the surgery from the co2 that is pumped into you, which is usually felt in the shoulder or back. Only walking and time will help that. The other is in your internal organs, which gas-x can help.

Hi UWS, I had my 2nd fill last week. So far, I have not had any problems, but today the inevitable happened. I had a small episode. I finished my mushies yesterday, and back on solids today. I had just finished a bowl of Cereal, and as I was mindlessly watching TV I started to munch on the dry cereal. What was I thinking!!! Fortunately, after about five minutes some saliva came up and the pain went away. Glad it wasn't worse. I'm probably going to stay on mushies for another day or so, so I don't further iritate anything. I understand steak is one of the more difficult foods for bandsters to handle. I tried it several times about 10 days after my first fill, cut it in super tiny pieces, and had no problems. When I saw the nutritionist afteer my fill last Thurs, she reminded me that just because I was able to eat something after my first fill, doesn't mean I will not have a problem after this fill. I guess we need to start cautiously after each fill to see wheich foods we can tolerate. Joan

That's good. Hang in there. The first week is the hardest, but for most people it gets easier every day.

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My nutritionist had recommended Herb Ox, but it tasted like dishwater to me, and only has 1g Protein. I'm glad I found the uUnjury. You can order it online (

My post op instructions were to water down the protein shakes. It is important to get your protein in. Erin, you might want to try the Unjury chicken broth protein powder. I think it tastes quite good, and I find the warm broth soothing.

The fill should help. You mentioned you are almost 2 weeks post op. Are you eating solidsalready? If you're still in the mushie stage, its easy not to feel full, as the food easily slides down. Hang in there. It usually takes awhile to find the right restriction, and the foods that work best for you to have that full feeling.

Karnold, Frequent vomiting is not good, and may cause problems with your band. Call your surgeon right away & discuss it with him/her. It is probably something that can be fixed easily. Even if they take out some of your fill, it can always be put back in when you can handle the food more easily. Good luck.

The fish that is allowed in the soft food phase unfortunately does not include shrimp. It refers to flakey fish that you can easily cut with a fork. As Rutiglius mentioned, shrimp is one of those foods that a lot of people have problems with. I cautiously ytried it when I was on solids, and did not have any problems. I cut it in very small pieces and chewed it thoroughly. Rice, like Pasta, can also be a problem food, as if it is not well cooked, it can expand in your pouch and cause a problem. Sticky rice is a no-no. With other rice, proceed cautiously, and see how you can handle it. When are you allowed to start on solids?

Welcome, Mary! I' about 8 weeks post op. I really love this site. I have learned so much here, and everyone is so helpful. Good luck on your journey. Joan

For me, it was stocking up on too much Protein powder. I thought I would have to be having them at least once a day, forever. Was I glad I was wrong on that count! Now the only thing I add the vanilla or chocolate powders to is pudding. I also fully agree with Linda "that life after the healing isn't that much different than life before surgery as far as eating goes." I was afraid I wouldn't be able to eat so many of my favorite foods after being banded, that I gorged my self on them prior, but I find if I cut steak and other meats into small pieces and chew, chew, chew, I can eat almost anything, just a lot less of it. Since I'm full from the protein & veggies, I am not as tempted by dessert afterwards.

I only had a single incision, but my entire belly was black & blue. After surgery I noticed a burning, tingling sensation in my right thigh. I asked the NP about it when I went for my post op check-up & he said its probably a pinched nerve, which may be due to the position my leg was in during surgery. Hmmmm....

Sure, if you dig down deep, you can loose weight. But can you keep it off? I know I couldn't. I'm less than 2 months post-op, so far, I can eat most foods (steak, shrimp, pasta). My portion sizes are so much smaller than what I ate before, yet I am full. I couldn't have done that without the band. I know I have to stay away from icecream and certain high calorie foods and drinks, but having a smaller pouch allows me to still enjoy them in small amounts.